Expert: Renee Cox - 8/4/2008

Question
I have a soon to be 3 yr. old female that has an open sore on the tip of her tail. I can only guess how she originally scraped it up but now it has become infected and i don't know what it is or how serious it may be. Like I said it is the tip and the only spot where no fur grows. She has had for maybe a week. To look at it , it all looks good. When you apply pressure to squeeze it then a White milky "puss" comes out. After a minute or so it has stopped and it will bleed. No mixture, just blood. So any help in figuring this out will be appreciated.

Answer
Hi Michael. It's pretty common for dogs with tails to get them injuried. It definitely sounds like she has an infection. You may want to put a call in to the vet to see if he thinks she needs antibiotics to help clear it up faster. Some vets will, some won't. If he thinks it's pretty serious, then he most likely will. Keep the area clean and dry, and you may want to try putting some Neosporin on the sore. She may try to lick it off, so try to distract her until it dries. Is she chewing on it or anything? If so, then you may need to fix her a collar to keep her away from it.